Abstract

Ferula sumbul (Umbelliferae) roots have a characteristic musk odour and it has been traditionally used for relieving anxiety, as a sedative in hysteria and other nervous disorders. Present investigation aims to develop and validate a simple, robust, accurate and fast analytical ultra-performance liquid chromatography technique for the estimation of valerenic acid in F. sumbul roots. F. sumbul root extract was prepared by refluxing the powdered roots with methanol for 30 minutes. A simple method for the estimation of valerenic acid has been developed and validated using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector. The estimation was achieved using BEH Shield RP, C-18 column (2.1×50 mm, 1.7 μm) with isocratic elution of methanol and 0.5% phosphoric acid (75:25) at a flow rate of 0.25 ml/min and detection at 218 nm. The method has been developed for the first time and is accurate with good linearity (r2>0.998). F. sumbul roots were found to contain 12.62±0.074 µg/g valerenic acid. The developed method can be selectively used for the estimation of valerenic acid in the roots of F. sumbul. All the validation parameters were found to be within the permissible limits prescribed by ICH guidelines.